You saved me
by LostinFairyTales
Summary: A collection of Frankenwolf short fics based upon otp prompts found on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

_Character A goes to the gym to impress Character B, but B doesn't know that it's for him/her and thinks it's for someone else. Jealousy appears and they realise their feelings. _

Never losing her pace, Ruby viciously grabbed her water bottle from its holder. The liquid sloshed around, and she took a gulp. A cool chill rippled through her, and Ruby proceeded to run faster and faster. It wasn't quite the same as running freely in the woods, but the confines of the gym were far safer with three 'Queens of darkness' and the Dark One on the loose.

Her sight was beginning to waver, and Ruby could feel the beads sweat tickling down her forehead. She knew that she was rapidly reaching her human form's limit, but she couldn't stop.

Not now. Ruby just had to get Whale's attention away from the simpering blue fairy.

He had begun to attend the gym about the same time that Ruby had, making them two of the three Sunday morning regulars; the third being Mother Superior. Ruby wasn't even sure if nuns were even supposed to be at the gym on a Sunday morning (not that the fairy had been trying particularly hard, spending more time admiring Whale than anything.)

Of course, Ruby told herself, she was simply pissed that Whale had paused to talk to someone who hadn't an ounce of perspiration on her body and had the audacity to touch his surprisingly muscular arms with a stupid little giggle.

"Oh, doctor Whale…"

Unable to stand the sound of her voice, Ruby pushed herself to her very limit. Heart-rate reaching its climax, everything faded into her spinning vision. Suddenly, her legs gave out and Ruby's shaking fingers hurriedly slowed the treadmill until she was gently jogging.

At a slower pace, Ruby's gaze focused upon Whale, and she realised that the small of Whale's back was visible through his t-shirt. Her racing heart seemed to be quickening, particularly at the thought of Whale removing the shirt. Ruby hurriedly pushed the thought away as she flicked off the treadmill and got off. Since _that _night, a friendship had slowly begun to blossom between her and Whale. It had been nothing more than that, or at least that's what Ruby had been telling herself. The sensations that buzzed inside of her were merely from running.

Finally, Mother Superior moved from standing before the rowing machine, saying something about needing a drink. Ruby watched as she sauntered past the treadmill machines, an insipid smirk upon her lips. For a moment, the two women shared a glance, and Ruby swore there was nothing saintly in the other woman's victorious sneer.

Feeling the nun's gaze boring into her, Ruby continued to jog, beginning to speed up once again. Whale had also gone back to exercising, and she found her feet matching his rhythm. The gym was quieter without Mother Superior's high-pitched babble, the hum of the air conditioner now audible. Ruby could feel herself getting absorbed into the motion of running once more. Forgetting about Mother Superior's smirks, and the way Whale made her feel, all Ruby focused upon was the sound of her feet pulsating against the treadmill.

A familiar voice tore her from her energised bubble. "If you go any faster, you might just break that machine."

Blinking, Ruby found herself staring straight at Whale, who was leant against the cross-trainer that was opposite her. A smile played upon his lips, his right eyebrow quirked slightly. Had Ruby only known his cursed self, she would have expected some crude remark about her breathless, sweaty state.

"It's fascinating to watch you run," Whale murmured, "You seem to…lose yourself." His gaze lowered as his flushed features darkened slightly.

"Thanks," Ruby felt herself blush at his awkwardness, finding the socially-inept scientist that hide behind his lecherous cursed self rather adorable. "Well, you have an admirer too."

The words came out bitter than she'd intended, and Whale seemed to grow even more embarrassed. A hand crept up rest on the back of his neck, and he gave a low chuckle, "Yeah, I guess."

He looked back up at her, forcing his gaze into hers as he continued, "Look, do you think it's a coincidence that I've started coming here around the same time as you?"

"I don't know, I mean, it's the same time that the nun started."

Whale shook his head with a sigh, moving towards her. Resting his arms around the treadmill screen, he tilted his head up at her.

"There's only one woman that I want to impress Ruby," Whale seemed to grow in confidence, pinching her water bottle and taking a swig, a sly grin crossing his face. "I'm not really that into fairies. I prefer women who have a little more…bite."

"And I like men who can keep up with me when I'm running. Seeing you on that rowing machine, I think you might just be up to it."

"Can we save that challenge for next week? I don't know about you, but I fancy putting all those calories back on with one of your grandmother's burgers."

At that, Ruby felt her stomach give a low rumble, her cheeks burning once again. "Sounds like my stomach agrees," She laughed, flicking off the machine as she stepped off. Her legs felt like jelly, the ground trembling beneath her as she took a step forward. A hand landed upon her shoulder, and Whale gently walked with her over to the door. Even once she grew steadier, Ruby didn't shake him off.

With his free hand, Whale got the door. Glancing back down at her as he held the door open, Whale gave her a quizzical look. "Did you really think that I was trying to impress Mother Superior? In the six weeks I've seen her here, I don't think she's ever managed past a jog on those treadmills."

"Maybe," Ruby muttered, stepping through the door into the much cooler corridor.

"Careful, otherwise you might start turning green too."

"Shut up!" Laughing, Ruby jabbed a finger into his chest, "Otherwise you won't be getting any burgers."

There was a slight cough from behind her, and Ruby turned to see that Mother Superior had returned. Considering that she had only gone for some water, it seemed to Ruby that she was more make-up than she had been previously. Her dolled-up face fell at the sight of them, and Ruby realised that Whale's arm was wrapped around her.

Ruby simply grinned at the nun, no longer the green-eyed monster.


	2. Chapter 2

One sending memes to each other while they're at work so much they turn their phone off in exasperation.

At first, it had started off as a joke. Whilst exploring the brilliance of the Internet, something that Ruby was now catching up on with the help of Henry, she had come across these images with funny text captions. Henry had informed her that these were called memes, and they had been made for almost everything imaginable, many becoming viral sensations.

Since receiving Ruby's mobile number from napkin that came alongside his burger, Whale had felt that part of falling in love with someone was that you had to put up with them sending you these strange memes and links to videos of cats in the early hours of the morning.

And whilst Whale certainly didn't mind watching a cat repeat the word "no" in a bizarrely human way, he felt that a distance had to be maintained between his home life and work life.

Evidently business at Granny's wasn't doing as well with another set of villains terrorising the town, as his phone hasn't stopped buzzing all day. Whale knew that he shouldn't answer it, but anything was better than the mountain of paperwork that sat at his desk.

So he opened her texts, trying to understand what the wine-glass holding, moustachioed and monocled cartoon faces were talking about. It had seemed like some kind of secret language, though Whale had to admit, some of the puns were rather funny.

But after the 50th image, the jokes were beginning to wear a little thin, especially when the reality of his work came calling with the buzz of his pager.

Even though Whale had responded to Ruby's previous text with an emoji that Henry described as being 'rolling on the floor laughing', his phone was already vibrating the moment he had begrudgingly left his office.

Whale made it all the way down the corridor before checking his phone. This time, the meme wasn't even that funny. Pausing to re-read the meme, Whale had the slight suspicion that Ruby didn't fully understand the implications of some of the memes. The one that had come through appeared to be either a very sly pun- or an innuendo that would give Granny a heart attack if she looked at Ruby's phone.

Take a step back so that he was no longer blocking the corridor, Whale hastily typed out a reply: 'Seriously stop I need to work.'

His pager gave another insistent bleep, and Whale slid his phone into his coat pocket before hurrying down the corridor.

'No doubt it's probably something trivial anyway,' Whale thought as he reached exam room ward. The pager was flashing exam room three, and Whale pushed open the door.

Sat upright on the bed was an anxious looking Snow, baby Neal cradled to her chest. There was no sign of Charming.

"Is your husband with you?"

Snow shot him a funny look, and Whale realised how it'd sounded. It wasn't as if he had anything against Charming, but the prince still didn't seem to have forgiven him for sleeping with his wife during the first curse. And if he was getting death glares for that, Whale dreaded to think of Charming's reaction if he did dare ask out Ruby. Then again, Snow's might be even worse.

"No, he's out with Emma, trying to track down Gold and his trio," Snow answered, adjusting her arm around Neal slightly.

"Right, so uh, what appears to be the problem?," Whale said, trying to get back out of the awkward hole he had inevitably dug himself into.

"Well I've noticed over the last few days that this scaly dry skin has started forming on his forehead and-

"

The vibration of Whale's phone cut Snow off.

"Are you being paged for somewhere else?" She asked, "I'm probably just over-reacting anyway, I can always come back-"

"No, no, it's fine," Said Whale, with an apologetic smile gained after many years of being a doctor, "It's just a text. Now, this dry skin of Neal's, where about is it?"

"Just here, on his forehead," Snow gently lifted Neal's knitted hat to reveal dried skin upon his otherwise soft forehead, "It's just, I thought he'd grown out of cradle cap, and I tried moisturising it but-"

Again Whale's phone vibrated, and just as Whale opened his mouth to apologise, his ringtone suddenly bursting out. Despite being inside his coat, the tinny sound of Justin Timberlake's SexyBack was still very audible.

If Whale had felt awkward when he first stepped foot into the room, he was now mortified. But he couldn't answer the phone to Ruby. Not in the middle of an examination: especially not an examination involving Ruby's closest friend.

"You can take the call, it's alright," Snow chirped above the noise, looking slightly less uncomfortable than him.

"Trust me, it's not important," Whale said, his mouth as rigid as the rest of his body as he helplessly awaited for the song to cease. That was the last time he agreed for Ruby to 'fix up' his mobile.

After what felt like the length of the first curse, his phone silenced itself and Victor let out a sigh.

"Sorry about that," Clearing his throat, as if to regain the little dignity he had left, Whale crouched down to better look at Neal's forehead.

"It could well still be cradle cap, but there are also many types of eczema that can be common for young babies. It's perfectly normal, I can assure you," Rising from his haunches, Whale went over to the nearby cabinet.

Pulling open a drawer, he felt his phone vibrate again. Having deemed any professionality to have been obliterated by his ringtone, Whale took out the phone. Another two texts, plus a missed call all flashed up from Ruby. With a shake of his head, Whale held down the power off button as he took out a prescription slip with his free hand.

If Ruby needed to contact him due to a real emergency, she'd have to run down to the hospital herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Inspired by the randomly generated dialogue opener, "Perhaps you'll take me out one day- or do I have to make an appointment?"

"Perhaps you'll take me out one day- or do I have to make an appointment?"

Whale's head jerked upwards as he stared disbelievingly at Ruby. His fingers fell from the taut skin around her swollen ankle to his trouser leg with a dull thud. "Wait-are you...asking me to ask you out?"

"Out on a proper date," Ruby clarified, rotating her wrist airily as she motioned around the exam room, "I mean, these hospital visits are great, but not very romantic."

"You're counting these as..." Whale trailed off, shaking his head as he recalled all of Ruby's numerous trips to the clinic over the past few weeks. Perhaps after so many fleeting complaints of cramps and twisted ankles, he should have said something. But Whale realised that he enjoyed her little visits; even if he had been under the impression that she didn't warm up properly before running, unaware of her real intentions.

"Look, Ruby, I'd love to take you out somewhere, only I'm quite busy at the moment-"

"Overtime, paperwork, people suddenly taking ill, I know," One of her legs swung out, the tip of her red lace boots landing upon his chest. Ruby straightened up, voice wavering slightly. "Unless, you're trying to avoid me?"

"Don't you think that if I was then I'd have sent you on your way with some Aspirin long ago?"

She gave a slight chuckle at that, and Whale rose from his haunches. Stood before her, her gaze boring into him, he was rendered incapable of processing any proper thoughts.

"So, uh, do you want to go out some time? On a 'proper date'?"

A smile crept across Ruby's lips. "Yes I would-ow!" She had bounded off the bed, suddenly clutching her right leg with a wince of pain.

In an instant, his hand was upon her shoulder, concern instantly washing over his face.

"Forgot I'd actually hurt my ankle this time," Ruby chuckled breathlessly, her breath blowing a stray hair from her face.

Keeping his grasp firm upon her shoulder, Whale led Ruby to the bed and set her down.

"Do you want me to drive you back to Granny's?"

"Oh no, it's alright, Belle brought me here, she was gonna drive me back."

"Alright, well, I recommend taking the day off. You need to rest that ankle," Realising that his hand lingered on her shoulder, he tentatively lifted it away, hurriedly crossing over to the medicine cabinet.

He heard a derisive snort. "Yeah, like Granny's gonna let me have a sick day. She'll tell me to work it off."

"I could write her a note, if you like," Whale called back as he sorted through the mess of pills inside the drawer.

"Could you? That'd be great."

Having taken out a box of mild painkillers, Whale grabbed a scrap of paper from the work top and quickly scrawled a note detailing that Ruby was to rest for the next twenty four hours. He could only hope that Granny would accept it.

"There you go," He went back to Ruby and handed her the note along with the vial.

She reached out, her fingertips brushing against the back of his hand as she took the items from him. Standing upright, Ruby hobbled to the door, weight shifted onto her left side.

Whale got the door for her, Ruby flashing him a gratified smile at the unexpected act. An eyebrow quirked as the corner of her lips curled.

"I'll see you at our next 'appointment'."


	4. Chapter 4

Prompt: The both of them going out to a park and getting ice cream to sit and eat with on a bench.

For days Whale had been racking his brains for inspiration for the promised date.

First was the actual date. For every other woman, a meal out at Granny's with a trip back to his condo and the best hits of Sting had sufficed; but Ruby warranted something more special, and away from the watchful eye of her Grandmother.

But then, even if he could come up with something, there was the second problem: inescapable work hours.

Whenever he tried to raise the possibility of a well-deserved evening off, a situation always seemed to arise. Despite supposedly having breaks between shifts to sleep, most of the time he went from one long shift into another.

Days had blurred by, weeks even, and Whale was beginning to fear that Ruby would lose hope in him.

But when Whale went down to the ICU after a brief lunch (or a shoved down sandwich whilst signing papers) one day, he found that the area was already well-staffed for the afternoon by the nuns.

Faced with the unexpected afternoon off, the choice between paperwork or Ruby was hardly a difficult one.

Her ecstatic voice when he had called to tell her the good news rang in his ears as he swiftly left the hospital and headed for Granny's.

Reaching the front porch, Whale glanced around for any sign of Ruby.

"Whale! Round here," A voice called, and Whale backtracked until he was stood on the pavement.

Coming round from the back of the cafe was Ruby.

"I've got another waitress covering," She said breathlessly, screwing her apron into a ball and dropping it onto a nearby chair. "So where we going?"

"This was all a little unexpected, so I haven't really planned anything," Whale admitted, following Ruby down the Main Street.

"How about we see where our feet take us?"

They strolled down the road, both keeping a respectable distance, at such a pace anyone would assume there was some emergency. As they walked, words streamed from Ruby about her day, arguments with Granny, musings of what was going off in town.

Not that Whale minded- he could listen to her all day. The animation in her voice only brightened his mood to levels of happiness he hadn't felt in years.

As they walked, Whale was suddenly conscious of something brushing against his hand. Without a second thought, he loosened his fingers and took hers.

They had long strayed from the pavements, heading down the mossy track that led out on the park. Chirping crickets and cawing birds drowned out the noise of the small town into a distant hum.

Their pace slowed as they wandered around the pond, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Whale had no idea what he was saying, his brain as fuzzy as the heavy air around them; but he made Ruby laugh, which made him laugh.

Clutching at one another deliriously until the fits of laughter subsided, Whale gulped for air whilst leading Ruby towards the ice-cream van parked on the grass.

Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to untangle her arm from around his body, not caring what the vendor would make of them hysterically giggling. He just about managing to order two vanilla and chocolate chip ice-cream cones with a straight face.

Going back around the pond, they walked in an amiable quiet, distracted by eating ice-cream. Whale made the mistake of glancing over at Ruby, who burst out laughing once again. Staggering over to the nearby bench, they sank down. Her body seemed to naturally rest against his, head falling on his shoulder. Holding his ice-cream in one hand, Whale ran his fingers through her hair, a shiver running down his spine at her sigh. Stretching out her bare legs, Ruby gazed out at the serene water.

"Whale?"

"Yeah?"

His hand slipped onto her shoulder as Ruby tilted her head up to him. The never fading smile only broadened, and he caught sight of the slight dimple at the edge of her lip. "You got a little something on your nose."

She grew closer, minty breath upon his skin. He felt the tip of her nose touch his, before the sudden desire for their lips to touch.

His Storybrooke counterpart urged him to do it; despite Whale swearing that he was no longer that guy who kissed (or more) on the first date.

But with the feel of arms wrapping around his neck, he couldn't resist.

She tasted of the ice-cream, lips soft with its moisture. Ruby reciprocated, reluctantly releasing herself to gasp for breath, cheeks as flushed as her lips.

Whale grinned at her, breathing shallowly before his finger traced down the transferred ice-cream upon her nose, and her lips were upon his once more.


	5. Chapter 5

One doing/talking about something they enjoy greatly whereas their partner just stares at them with a small smile and a slight laugh because wow what a cutie their partner is.

It was almost closing time at the cafe, and Ruby hummed the Taylor Swift song that had been stuck in her head as she gathered up the plates and glasses left at a table. Straightening up with the tray in hand, her gaze landed on the lone figure at the final booth.

Whale was sat with his back to her, leant forward slightly; the coffee she had brought him set down upon the table. Seeing him, shoulder-blades almost visible through his shirt, the hair above the nape of his neck ruffled from where he's been running his hand through it, made Ruby yearn to march over and make out with him right there.

But the thought of a customer, or Granny back from sorting the B&amp;B, walking in on them was enough to hold Ruby back.

Still, she figured that walking over and chatting to him would appear harmless enough.

Having dumped the tray upon the breakfast bar with a clatter, Ruby made her way towards the back of the cafe. Whale had made no noise, and as she rounded the table corner, Ruby caught sight of his face.

She couldn't help but smile at the ridge in his forehead, jaw set with concentration as he gazed down at the paper before him. A soft laugh escaped her as her heart echoed in her chest. Whale glanced up, resembling a startled deer. The notebook hurriedly snapped shut- but not before Ruby realised what it contained.

"Wait, can I see those sketches?"

Tucking the pencil into a trouser pocket, Whale muttered a no, face still a little flushed.

"Please?," Ruby slid into the seat opposite him, tilting her head to meet his averted eyes, "Just a tiny glance?"

With a sigh, Whale slid across the notebook, and Ruby pulled back the leather cover. Inside, the cream paper was filled with pencil sketches. Graphite left grey smudges and harsh lines that formed detailed drawings: of plants, buildings, people.

Casting her eyes over every sketch, Ruby carefully turned each page, marvelling. After five pages, she came across a half-completed sketch that took up a double page.

Harsh lines defined the shape of a woman's face, softly blended so that it looked as real as a mirror reflection. Even her hair was carefully shaded in, framed by a cloak, the watercolour red even more vibrant against the monochromatic drawing.

"Whale, that's...amazing! I mean, they're all brilliant; you're wasted as a doctor!"

To her surprise, a rather shy look crossed the usually confident man's face.

"They're only sketches," he murmured, outstretching a hand to close the notebook again. "I always used to do diagrams and annotations to go with my experiments."

"That's so cool," Ruby watched his initial embarrassment shift into relaxation as he tucked the sketchbook into his coat and leant back in his seat.

"I've always liked to draw, mostly sketches, trying to work out how things are put together by drawing them, or drawing things that have caught my eye with their beauty-"

He trailed away, and Ruby gave another gentle laugh as she realised his unintentional implications.

"You're so sweet, Whale," Her hand caught his, palm resting upon the back of his hand so that her fingers could spread out in between his.

"Victor. Call me Victor."

"Victor," Ruby liked the way it sounded, how the syllables formed upon her lips.

Heavy footsteps echoed round the back, ones that Ruby immediately recognised. But she could tell their distance; long enough to allow her to place a quick kiss upon Victor's heated cheek.

Sliding her hand out of his, Ruby got up and hurried over to the work top. By the time Granny entered, she was washing up the crockery.

Whatever Granny was telling her, Ruby wasn't listening (not that she ever fully did). Her thoughts were captivated by Victor's sweet expression of concentration and his sketches. Only the chime of the door brought her back to reality.

By the time that she looked across, he had already left.

Quick question for you- would you like to read AU one-shots in this prompt collection/in a separate book? Also, updates for this will grow less frequent over the next month or so due to exams, but I will update whenever inspiration for a cute scene has hit :)


	6. Chapter 6

**In response to the guest reviewer- Thank you so much for your kind words. Of course I'll do this prompt, it's lovely! I've kind of ended up interpreting the 'concerned' slightly differently to how you've implied, but I hope that's okay. **

**On a side-note, you are more than welcome to submit prompts guys! :) **

**One being secretive and the other becomes concerned. It turns out that one of them had been putting together a thoughtful gift for the other. **

Staring down at the set of incomplete notes upon his desk, Victor discarded the pen that had been sitting motionlessly between his fingers. His lowered his head into his hands, letting out an exhausted sigh.

A migraine had begun to form, built up by layers of fatigue, exasperation and another emotion.

Victor couldn't quite put his finger on it: desire, perhaps, though not in the lustful way his cursed self was used to. More a...yearning, a pull strong than anything he'd ever experienced.

All he wanted was to see Ruby.

But she didn't want to see him.

Victor gave another sigh, trying to push away the image of her, the memory of her lips upon his, hand upon his.

He didn't know what was going on with Ruby. Those first few weeks had been brilliant, some dream-like state of stolen kisses in exam rooms and glances whilst picking up cups of coffee.

But now he was being pulled back to a reality of overtime, very little sleep and less and less time with Ruby.

Their meetings had grown scarcer, texts fleeting, until she stopped replying completely.

Bitterness coursed through him, and Victor stood up with such force that the wheeled chair flew back from the desk. As he crossed the cramped office, Victor cursed fickle-minded women and how incomprehensible they were, even to a man of science.

Pulling out the final drawer of the steel cabinet, Victor took out his coveted supply of liquor. As he had grown further apart from Ruby, he had grown closer to alcohol once more.

He downed the liquid from the shot glass in one, relishing the harshness that scraped down his throat. The pulsing pain behind his temple seemed to fade slightly. It was too early in the afternoon, and his second back to back shift, to be drinking, but he began to pour more into the glass.

Before it could touch his lips again, Victor set the glass down on the cabinet. Drinking wasn't going to help reduce the stack of paperwork.

The rational side of his consciousness told him to get some fresh air instead. The hospital air, heavy with detergent, felt stale and he made his way down the corridors until he found a back exit.

Pushing against the door with all of his diminishing strength, Victor stumbled outside into the car park, head swimming. Nausea gripped him, and for a moment he was certain he would throw up. But as his shaking breaths grew steadier, the sensation slowly faded, revealing the emptiness of his stomach.

He decided that walking to Granny's would do him more good than going to the hospital cafeteria. Not bothering to sign out (he'd done enough hours to warrant a break), Victor cut across the back of the car park to the street.

As he crossed over onto the Main Street, he found himself walking a few paces behind who he presumed to be Robin with his newly-reunited wife.

"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure that Merry Men, and little Roland are well away. I don't suppose you want any prying eyes."

"Robin, we're not going to be doing that!" The woman exclaimed with a laugh, jovially punching Robin's arm.

That wasn't Marian's voice, nor Regina. As the realisation hit him, Victor suddenly noticed the shade of woman's coat.

Ruby red.

Before he could wonder what Ruby was doing with Robin Hood, she glanced back and he was looking directly at the face that had haunted him for weeks.

Their eyes met for a second, before Ruby whipped her head back around, and the voices grew lower and indistinct.

Arriving at Granny's, Robin continued down the street, giving Victor a nod with a slight grin. Ruby was still ignoring his presence, though she did hold the door for him. Before Victor could say a word, she slid off her coat and hurried round to the back of the cafe.

The buzz of chatter only worsened the throbbing in his head. Victor didn't even bother sitting down, staying stood behind the bar to order a sandwich. As he waited, drumming fingers upon the work surface, his eyes flitted across to Ruby. She had her back to him, phone pressed to her ear as she gave an unimpressed Granny a thumbs up. The phone was quickly slid back into the receiver and she got back to work.

Ruby passed him by, completely indifferent; Victor tried to push back the thought that she was ignoring him, but it was hard to convince himself that she was simply too busy to notice him. Taking the sandwich that had appeared on the bar, he paid and squeezed his way through the crowd to leave Granny's.

At long last, his shift was over- for once, he didn't have another straight after. It had been a rather unproductive shift, and Victor knew he'd be loathing himself when he faced the mountain of paperwork the next day.

He had been slumped aimlessly on his couch for some time, waiting for the aspirin to kick in. On the coffee table was his phone, and he was debating whether or not to call Ruby and have to listen to monotonous ringing, when there was a knock at the door.

The only person he could think of that would visit was a pizza delivery guy, though he couldn't recall ordering pizza. Massaging his forehead, the knocking resounding painfully, he crossed the room and unlocked the door.

At first all he saw was red: red roses, brightly filling his vision, their scent pungent. Then his gaze focused and he lifted his eyes to see the beholder.

"Um, I didn't mean to disturb you," Ruby said, colouring like the flowers in her hands.

"No, you're not at all," Victor stumbled over the words slightly, before giving an awkward motion into his apartment, "do you want to come in?"

Ruby slowly stepped through the doorway, Victor taking a step back to allow her in.

"Look, Victor, I know I've been kinda distant recently, and I wanted to make it up to you," Ruby shyly outstretched the roses, and Victor blinked at her.

"Oh, they're for me? That's very kind of you," He said bewilderedly, taking the flowers before glancing around the mess of an apartment for a vase.

There wasn't one, so he settled for the three empty beer bottles that were on the work top, placing a few roses in each. Looking down at his dishevelled state, with his shirt untucked, no tie and a stain from the sandwich he'd eaten earlier, Victor realised he looked as attractive as his place did.

He turned back around to find that Ruby still stood by the doorway.

"You can make yourself at home," He murmured, trying to smooth his rumpled shirt.

"I kinda had something else planned too- for you and I."

"Right..." Victor coughed, trying to dismiss how seductive he'd found those final few words. "Just give me a sec, I'll change into something better than this."

A smile crept across Ruby's lips, "It's fine, you'll be wearing a coat."

"I'm not going out with you looking like a tramp, at least let me put on an ironed shirt."

"Alright," Ruby smirked, leaning against the doorframe and folding her arms.

Undoing the buttons as he walked, Victor went into his bedroom. Usually he'd be inviting women in there with him; but it was as shamefully messy as the rest of his house and he got the feeling Ruby had other plans.

Peeling off the shirt and dropping it unceremoniously onto the floor, Victor opened up the wardrobe and grabbed a navy shirt.

Going back across the main room of the apartment, he saw that Ruby had already taken his coat from where it had lay over the back over the sofa, tapping her foot against the floor.

She took his arm as Victor slipped on the coat, and Ruby almost dragged him downstairs in her haste.

"Just where are we going?" He asked, walking faster than his tired limbs liked to keep up with her.

"It's a surprise."

Ruby said no more until they had reached the outskirts of the woods, finally slowing her pace.

"I know I've hardly seen you over the past few weeks," She called as she led the way through the trees, "Granny's had me up to my neck doing waitressing, sorting out the bed and breakfast, and you've been busy too at the hospital."

Victor paced behind, taking the rough ridges slightly slower than Ruby. He didn't really have time for long excursions, and they were venturing farther into the woods than he'd ever been. All he could was keep his eyes upon the woman in front, following her gait over the logs and roots.

"I couldn't tell you anything about what I was up to, see," She continued, suddenly coming to a halt, "else it wouldn't be a surprise."

Victor stopped beside her, still at the sigh before him. Inside the leafy canopy of trees, small lights glowed like stars, illuminating the red gingham picnic blanket that was draped over the woodland floor. A wicker basket set down upon the blanket, partially covered by a cloth, but he could see a bottle of wine poking out.

"You did all of this for me?" He said after a moment of simply staring at the evening picnic.

Victor tilted his head to look across at the beaming woman.

"Nobody's ever done something so-" His voice wavered, throat thickening at the gratitude that dispelled all his earlier hurt and confusion.

"I'm glad you like it," Ruby took his hand and guided him down the incline to the awaiting picnic.

She walked backwards so that her eyes remained upon his face, and Ruby dropped down onto the blanket, pulling him down with her. Their hands parted as the pair settled, Ruby leaning over him as she tugged out the wine from the basket.

"Robin helped me set this all up, that's why I was with him earlier," She explained, voice slightly muffled whilst she reached for two glasses.

Victor popped the cork of the bottle, Ruby squealing slightly at the closeness of the noise. Holding out the wine glasses, Victor poured out the red liquid and handed her a glass.

With one hand holding the glass, Ruby stretched her other arm around his back, drawing her body in close to his.

For a while they just lay there, backs resting upon a trunk, taking the occasional sip of wine.

"I'd like to make a toast," Victor announced as he refilled her glasses.

"I'm all ears," Ruby mumbled, her head rested on his shoulder.

"To a wonderful, thoughtful woman, who can come up with such...lovely ways to spend an evening; but didn't need to do anything at all. Having her is enough to brighten my day," Victor took a swig of the wine, as if to find the courage to continue, "and though she's far more than I deserve, I'm hoping that maybe...you'd like to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes!" Ruby tapped her glass into his. With a soft giggle she added, "Cheers!"


	7. Chapter 7

_Your OTP playing a board game like monoploy, jenga or sorry! Person B gradually turns redder with frustration as they keep losing. Person A notices and decides to purposefully lose the last match just to watch Person B explode with childish taunts and silly dancing._

* * *

"Well then, your turn Ruby," Victor set the wooden block down on the top of the pile, the Jenga tower wobbling precariously.

Tilting her head slightly, Ruby seemed to grow focused as she assessed the several rows of blocks. Eventually her arm outstretched, red nails grasping a middle block towards the bottom. She slowly withdrew the piece, sliding out out so as not to knock over the tower.

Outside, rain lashed down, the howling wind sending tiny bullets to chip away at the window. But the weather did not distract Ruby, who maintained her deliberation until the piece was resting at the top of the tower.

"Your turn." Her lips spread widely, with a rather wolf-ish quality, eyes seeming to glow beneath the fluorescent lighting of Granny's.

Victor was determined not to be deterred by Ruby. He knew how this game worked. It was about maintaining balance: therefore specific blocks had to be taken. After four rounds, Victor still hasn't determined quite which blocks those were, having lost every time.

But this time he would win...

Having freed a side block from near the top, Victor went to place it upon the top.

Before his fingers could brush the tower again, it clattered onto the table. The blocks spilled out across the table and onto the floor. Ruby quickly ducked underneath to retrieve the fallen pieces, though Victor could hear her muffled giggles.

"I don't understand what's so funny?" He demanded, pushing the blocks on the table into a pile.

"Nothing," Ruby replied sweetly, voice on the edge of laughter as her face appeared again and met his. Gathered in her arms were the remaining blocks, which she set down in the pile. "Do you admit defeat?"

"No!" He felt the burning sensation on the nape of his neck and cheeks grow fiercer. Biting on her lip, Ruby avoided his gaze as she began to layer the pieces in their threes again.

"One last match then?"

"Whoever wins this is the ultimate champion."

Ruby gave a nod of agreement, swiftly assembling the tower. In between the layers that she placed, Victor would put in another set of three blocks. Their skin would briefly brush, and a small smile would quirk upon Ruby's lips; softening Victor's sense of competitiveness slightly.

Once again they begun to slid out blocks. At first it was simple enough, but the tower quickly began to lean dangerously. Both grew steadily more focused as the moves became riskier. However, several times did Victor notice that Ruby seemed to take pieces that she perhaps ought to have left (though he put it down to him gaining skill at playing the game.)

By the time they had added a sixth layer of blocks, the tower looked as though it was about to topple. Victor could see through the gaps to the a block in the bottom left that would restore the balance. Ruby's fingers instead went towards a block in the upper right, gently withdrawing it.

With that, the tower crashed down, the blocks thundering down spectacularly.

"Yes!" All of the tension and competitiveness Victor had been withholding surged out in joyous exclamations. He jabbed a finger across at Ruby. "In your face!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat as she watched her boyfriend proceed to do a sort of ecstatic jig around Granny's in victory.

She only decided to intervene when he launched into a slightly off pitch rendition of 'We Are The Champions'.

"Victor, honey, I don't mean to interrupt your impersonation of Freddie Mercury, but do I get a consolation prize?" Victor paused mid-guitar solo, fingers frozen from where he had been strumming an air guitar whilst knelt down on the floor.

The seductive purr of 'consolation prize' seemed to sober Victor up immediately, as he swiftly stood upright.

"What kind of prize were you thinking of?"

The wolf-ish grin returned, though her lips didn't part. Ruby's eyes darted towards the bedroom, her hands slipping into his.

"I think you know."


End file.
